According to the incident report, police received information that a blue Ford Ranger had pulled away from the former business at a high rate of speed with a load of scrap metal. A Commerce police officer observed the vehicle going south on Elm Street and turning onto the Ila Road, where a piece of the metal fell off as the vehicle crossed the railroad tracks. An officer pulled the vehicle over just before it reached U.S. 441.

When the officer asked Hanley where they were coming from, he said “they were coming from where he stays,” the report said. At that point the officer told him that he (the officer) knew where they were coming from, after which Hanley admitted that the scrap metal was stolen “and advised that he wanted to take it back.”

That option was not available. All three people in the vehicle were arrested, and the vehicle was towed to be weighed so the value of the scrap metal could be determined.